USS Admiral W. L. Capps (AP-121), an , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Rear Admiral Washington L. Capps (1864–1935). Unusually, the first — — served concurrently with the Admiral W. L. Capps. Via a transfer to the United States Army and then back to the Navy, the ship was renamed USNS General Hugh J. Gaffey (T-AP-121), making her the only ship to be named for Hugh Joseph Gaffey. Built in California Her keel was laid down on 15 December 1942 at Alameda, California, by the Bethlehem-Alameda Shipyard Inc., Inc., under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 679). She was launched on 20 February 1944 sponsored by Mrs. James Reed and delivered to the Navy and commissioned on 18 September 1944. World War II Service Transporting troops for Pacific campaigns Following shakedown training along the U.S. West Coast, the transport departed San Francisco, on 23 November, bound for the southwestern Pacific Ocean. En route (7 December) she visited Nouméa, New Caledonia, where she disembarked marines and took on board passengers headed for Guadalcanal, arriving 10 December. From that island, Admiral W. L. Capps carried another group of passengers to Espiritu Santo. She embarked almost 3500 troops at the latter port and set a course for home where she arrived on the day after Christmas. The ship put to sea again on 21 February 1945 bound for Hollandia, New Guinea, whence she proceeded to the Philippines. The ship arrived at Leyte on 20 March and departed that island on 8 April for the United States. After arriving at San Francisco, late that month, she moved north to Seattle, Washington, where she embarked almost 5000 troops to reinforce American units fighting on Okinawa. Sailing on 7 May, the transport stopped at Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok, and Ulithi before reaching Okinawa on 2 July. Next she visited Saipan on 12 and 13 July, before getting underway on the latter day bound ultimately for the Panama Canal and the East Coast of the United States. Supporting Atlantic operations Admiral W. L. Capps entered port at Norfolk, Virginia, on 4 August and, while undergoing voyage repairs, received word at mid-month that hostilities in the Pacific had ended. She stood out of Norfolk on 1 September, with members of the French Navy among her passengers. After dropping them off at Marseille, France, and embarking American troops, she headed back toward